SuperFan Read Free Page B

confidently, not waiting for Shawn’s answer.
    Shawn barely heard his friend. The first germ of an idea was starting to form.
    Nowhere did it say that the SuperFan had to be a lifelong WWE fan. In fact, nowhere did it say you had to be part of the WWE Universe to enter. That didn’t mean you’d win, of course, but it didn’t stop you from entering.
    Huh.
    Shawn thought about how his father would soon be in Afghanistan. He was going because it was the right thing to do for his country. Maybe there was something Shawn could do because it was the right thing to do, too. Not for himself. For his dad.

CHAPTER FOUR
    Alex tossed Shawn a white Flip video camera. “Film me. Keep an eye on the clock. This can’t be longer than a minute. Not one second longer!”
    Shawn nodded. He and Alex had fooled around with the camera a ton of times, so he knew how to use it. “Don’t you want to write something out?”
    â€œNah. I’ll wing it. What I miss in prep, I’ll make up in enthusiasm. Check it out!” Shawn watched as Alex positioned himself on his bed directly in front of a Rey Mysterio poster—his whole room was a shrine to WWE. Then Alex gave Shawn a sign to start filming.
    â€œHi, WWE Universe,” Alex began. “I’m Alex Garcia, and no one loves the WWE like I do. No one! Look!”
    Alex did a thirty-second guided tour of his room as Shawn followed and filmed. “Choose me as SuperFan, and I’ll make the WWE proud. Six-one-nine!” Alex finished with Rey Mysterio’s signature chant and then thrust his arms overhead in a victory pose.
    â€œGood one,” Shawn told him as he stopped the recording. Then he made a decision: If he shot a video of his own, he didn’t have to enter SuperFan. But he’d have it just in case.
    He tossed the Flip camera to his friend. “Now me,” he said quietly.
    â€œWhat?!”
    â€œI said, now me,” Shawn repeated.
    Alex look at him, his jaw slack. Then he whooped. “Shawn’s gonna enter! I can’t believe it! Shawn’s gonna enter!”
    Shawn sat on the bed, embarrassed. “I’m not sure if I will. But I might. It would mean a lot to my dad.”
    â€œThen start talking before you change your mind!”
    He pointed the Flip camera at Shawn, who had no idea what to say. “This could take a while, Alex. Like, till we get our driver’s licenses.”
    â€œShawn? Shut up and talk.”
    Shawn nodded, then sat back on Alex’s bed and started to talk. Well, not exactly. He sat for three full seconds of silence before he began.
    â€œHi.” He gave a little wave. “My name is Shawn Reynolds, I’m from Columbia, Missouri, and this is my video for SuperFan. I’m not even sure I am going to enter. The truth is, I hated WWE until last night, when I went to a Raw show for my little brother’s birthday. The truth is, if my father wasn’t going to Afghanistan at the end of the week, I don’t think I would even think about entering. The truth is, he’s a huge WWE fan. I’m not. The truth is, until last night, I didn’t really know the difference between John Cena and Sheamus or CM Punk and Rey Mysterio. But I want to make my dad happy, even though the truth is I’m a pretty cruddy athlete. All I can say is that if you pick me, I’ll be just like a lot of other kids out there. Probably even most kids out there. We’re not the greatest, but we’re us.”
    Shawn glanced at the clock. Fifteen seconds to go, but he had nothing more to say.
    â€œThat’s it,” he added. “Oh! If you don’t pick me, pick my friend Alex Garcia.”
    â€œGreat,” Alex declared as he shut down the camera. “Especially the last line. Let’s show this to my mom and then tell your dad what’s going on. He’ll be so psyched!”
    â€œNo!” Shawn’s reaction was immediate.
    â€œNo? Why